


The Gauntlet: Jughead's POV

by tara_owens



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-19 17:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13709469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tara_owens/pseuds/tara_owens
Summary: What I imagine to be going through Jughead's mind during The Gauntlet





	The Gauntlet: Jughead's POV

I stood in the ravine, fists clenched as I prepared for what was to come. The Gauntlet was the final phase of Serpent initiation. I should have been scared; adrenaline should have been pumping through my veins. But the only thing on my mind was Betty Cooper. I tried to push the feelings away, to ease the aching in my heart. I prayed that the pain I was about to experience would drown out the pain in my chest, the tightening in my stomach.  
I lifted my head, clenching my jaw and taking a step forward. The first punch hit me in the gut, and with it an image of Betty, her smile as I told her I loved her. Another hit, and then another, in the same region, and each time flesh met flesh, the images of my beloved flooded through my brain. She’d done everything for me, she’d put herself at risk time and time again, and I continued to push her away. I was angry, and disappointed, and selfish.  
The sixth hit took me off guard, the fist slamming into my right eye. I flew back, and was caught by someone, who shoved me into another fist. The eleventh person hit me from the back, knocking me to my knees. As they hit the soil, damp from the rain, the memory Archie telling me to stay away from her entered my mind and fuelled me to stand back up. I needed more; I needed to be punished for destroying the lives of so many people that I cared about. Sweet Pea stood in front of me, a slight smirk on his lips. My hair fell in my face, the rain making it plaster to my forehead.  
“Is that all you got?” I mumbled, glaring up at him through furrowed brows. A smile flashed across his face. It was brief, but I noticed it. He’d been waiting for this moment, payback for my best friend’s stupid mistakes. I didn’t expect the brass knuckles though, splitting the skin on my cheek and throwing me back. My cheek hit the soil, my hair mixing in with the mud. 

“Is that why you’re here, to warn me?” I asked, looking my best friend up and down.  
“No.” He sounded disappointed, betrayed. “I came here to tell you to stay away from Betty. She doesn’t want to see you anymore.” 

I pushed myself up with my arms, rising to my feet. I was wobbly, and the world was spinning around me, but I’d done it. I’d made it through The Gauntlet. Sweet Pea stuck out his hand as the rest of the Serpents hooted. It was Betty or the Serpents, and I had unwillingly made my choice.


End file.
